Help a Tarot Newbie out?

[Jackiedanielz]

I recently just purchased my first deck. I've been scanning some of the threads here and found that a few of the tarot newbies have done a reading right away with their decks. I myself have been reading the book that accompanied my cards and have been working on the first exercise provided. Going through my minor arcana and associating the meanings of the suits & the what their numbers represent with what I see, what was obvious, what intrigued me. Well, I got through the Wands and the Cups came here and found these threads. So I decided to do a reading for myself. To see how accurate my reading could be. I've been able to base my cards off of what I've jotted down thus far. It seems to make perfect sense.

Now I'm just getting into learning tarot. I've signed up for the CoT class recently. I can't say I'm skeptical because I've had a calling for tarot many years now. So maybe I shouldn't be really asking this or questioning where the cards fell. Meaning I'm hesitant to question my reading. I'm hesitant to question my interpretation.

Here's the deal. I shuffled from back to front, thinking about my question. Also wondering if I was shuffling correctly. :rolleyes: I also blended the cards, meaning I took some from the back and fused them with the front & center of the deck.

I did a Past, Present, Future Spread. The only cards I pulled were ones that I already done my first exercise on. No others, no swords, no pentacles, no court cards, no major arcana. Just wands & cups.

So what I'm questioning is, did I not shuffle enough? The cards seemed to have made sense to the question I was asking & considering it was a career question, it makes perfect sense that I would get wand cards.

That & I'm also hesitant to ask for others interpretations of the cards I pulled. It would be like I don't believe in myself. These cards make perfect sense but I'm sure my interpretation is elementary compared to what you more experienced readers would get.

Gods, I'm confused. Anyone got any feedback? Can anyone help me out? :)

[Luminessence]

I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe the deck is just trying to make things easy for you :) And it's fine to ask for interpretations - it can be good to get other points of view, and it doesn't necessarily mean you don't believe in your own interpretations.

[aerialla]

You pulled those cards for a reason. They wanted to be picked. They want you to really look inside yourself.

The cards will guide you, but you have to trust in them as much as yourself.

Sometimes it helps to have others do a reading for you too. I always do even though I have been doing Tarot for years. Someone else may see something that I missed or something that I overlooked completely. Sometimes its easier to follow someone else's outlook over your own because your's may become cloudy.

One thing you can do is ask the cards for guidance. Keep turning over cards until you believe you know what they are trying to tell you.

Keep a journal. If cards are coming up repeatedly take that into effect. They are the ones that are shouting, hey look at me, I have something important I'm trying to show you.

I hope I have helped. Really get to know your cards, when I was first learning I carried mine with me everywhere and when I felt the urge I pulled one out and studied everything about it. I opened myself up to them and mine have become like my therapist and they have never steered me wrong.

[Jackiedanielz]

I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe the deck is just trying to make things easy for you :) And it's fine to ask for interpretations - it can be good to get other points of view, and it doesn't necessarily mean you don't believe in your own interpretations.
Ok, I feel better about it now. Thanks for the quick response! :nyah: So my question to the cards were What things do I need to work on at my current job? I was recently passed up for a new position. My boss thought that I would be bored in this new job & that I need more of a challenge. I'm still a bit beat up about it, it felt like she didn't have any confidence in me to handle the new position. But I can see her point. I work in a very creative job right now and the new position was supervising a group that I used to work for. All they really do is run numbers. So I can see what she meant by being bored because I am more of an out-of-the-box thinker. So I asked the cards what I could work on whether it being staying where I am, because we are getting more involved in design work, or finding a new job within or outside my job. Either way there are things I need to work on, learn, better myself at.
The cards I pulled.
Past Influencer position: Seven of Wands
Present Situation position: Six of Wands
Future Possibilities position: Ace of Cups

You see how the wand cards are so close together. My deck was in complete order when I shuffled it because I was going through the minors.

So I pulled an extra card, maybe as an extra bit of advice. I got the Ten of Wands.

Shower me with your insights! :flowers:

[Jackiedanielz]

You pulled those cards for a reason. They wanted to be picked. They want you to really look inside yourself.

The cards will guide you, but you have to trust in them as much as yourself.

Sometimes it helps to have others do a reading for you too. I always do even though I have been doing Tarot for years. Someone else may see something that I missed or something that I overlooked completely. Sometimes its easier to follow someone else's outlook over your own because your's may become cloudy.

One thing you can do is ask the cards for guidance. Keep turning over cards until you believe you know what they are trying to tell you.

Keep a journal. If cards are coming up repeatedly take that into effect. They are the ones that are shouting, hey look at me, I have something important I'm trying to show you.

I hope I have helped. Really get to know your cards, when I was first learning I carried mine with me everywhere and when I felt the urge I pulled one out and studied everything about it. I opened myself up to them and mine have become like my therapist and they have never steered me wrong.

Thanks for the post! :) Well, the cards made perfect sense for my question. And its funny because these are cards that I really felt a connection with when I was studying them. I currently am keeping a journal with all my exercises & even my spreads. When I go on vacation next week I plan on taking them with me! Why not start it off right, huh? :hehehehe: I will take your advice & carry them with me. The more I look at them the more I will understand & connect with them!

[Dashifen]

The journal is a great idea. I often even take my digital camera along when I work at a party or something like that so that I can snap a photo of each spread. Then I can often make notes at home or the next day when I saw a particularly interesting interaction between a few cards. When I read here at MW (granted, I've only been doing so for three days) I usually write everything up in a Word document and save it for later. Especially since I don't usually use the book that came with my deck anymore, it's nice to compare my reading of the cards against what the book says and see if I'm seeing things differently after a few years of working with the deck (some cards I just read completely differently than the authors originally put down in print).

[Verthandi]

So what I'm questioning is, did I not shuffle enough? The cards seemed to have made sense to the question I was asking & considering it was a career question, it makes perfect sense that I would get wand cards.
Then you shuffled enough. I've done larger readings where all but a card or two are from the same suite or almost all Major Arcana. If it makes sense and answers your questions, then you're doing it properly.

That & I'm also hesitant to ask for others interpretations of the cards I pulled. It would be like I don't believe in myself. These cards make perfect sense but I'm sure my interpretation is elementary compared to what you more experienced readers would get.
We were all beginners at one time. Don't be afraid of asking for help. If you don't want to, that's all right as well. Sometimes though, other people can give you a perspective you hadn't considered. *shrug* Ultimately, it's up to you.

Best of luck with whatever you decide, but my opinion is there are quite a few experienced readers on the board--I'd take advantage of it and ask for advice.